Harmon Dondarrion

Harmon Dondarrion, Lord of Blackhaven, appears in the account of the Vulture King’s rebellion first as a lord who underestimated the rebels, then as a casualty of their advance, and finally as one of the marcher leaders who helped defeat them. Known afterward as No-Nose Dondarrion, he survived the capture of his castle and returned to the campaign against the force that had taken it.

Lord of Blackhaven and the Rebel Advance

Dondarrion initially described the Vulture King’s followers as an undisciplined rabble, suggesting that their disorder made them a lesser threat. The rebellion soon overturned that judgment: the rebels stormed and seized Blackhaven, Dondarrion’s castle. The Vulture King personally took Dondarrion’s nose before setting the castle alight and departing. The episode made Dondarrion a direct victim of the revolt and gave him the lasting epithet No-Nose.

Return to the Campaign

The Vulture King later abandoned his siege of Nightsong and marched west. Lady Caron sallied out behind him and joined a strong force of marcher fighters led by Dondarrion, now described as the mutilated Lord of Blackhaven. Lord Samwell Tarly arrived with several thousand knights and archers, placing the rebel army between forces to its front and rear. Though the Vulture King had twice as many men as his three opponents combined, much of his host was untrained and undisciplined; its ranks broke under the pressure, and the fleeing Dornish were pursued in what became known as the Vulture Hunt.

Reward and Significance

Dondarrion’s role in the campaign placed him among the king’s rewarded supporters. After the rebels were defeated, the king granted Dondarrion, Davos Baratheon, Samwell Tarly, Ellyn Caron, Allard Royce, and Goren Greyjoy gold, offices, and honors. Dondarrion’s trajectory links the rebellion’s violence to its suppression: the lord whose castle was captured and burned returned as a leader in the force that helped destroy the Vulture King’s host.